Bloomington-Normal, a college community in the heart of Illinois that is fronted by the Illinois State Redbirds and the Illinois Wesleyan Titans, is also home to Heartland Community College, a place where students can pursue their degrees at a fraction of the cost of attending a four-year university.
It also produces some of the best baseball talent in the country.
Two alumni from Heartland’s 2023 NJCAA Division II Baseball World Series championship team, catcher Ben Hartl and infielder Sam Antonacci, are now in the Arizona Fall League representing the Texas Rangers and Chicago White Sox, respectively.
Hartl and Antonacci are the Hawks’ first players to join the AFL since Pittsburgh Pirates right-handed pitcher Colin Holderman played for the Salt River Rafters in 2021. Hartl is assigned to the Surprise Saguaros, while Antonacci plays for the Glendale Desert Dogs in the AFL, an elite league for baseball prospects that runs in the Valley through mid-November.
The two former Hawks have spent most of their baseball careers playing on the same fields. Both Hartl and Antonacci grew up in Springfield, Illinois, where they competed against each other on opposite sides of a crosstown rivalry between Springfield High School and Sacred Heart-Griffin High School.
From the beginning, playing in 8U, Hartl knew Antonacci was a force to be reckoned with – a solid defensive infielder with elite bat-to-ball skills and good speed. Hartl even recalled that in one of his final high school games as a pitcher, Antonacci collected a walk-off knock off him to add to the absurdity.
“He was always the best one on the field,” Hartl said. “He even switch hit back in the day, and we were like, ‘Man, this guy just gets pesky hits, steals bases and makes every play.’”
After learning about Antonacci through Hartl, Chris Razo, Heartland’s baseball coach, bought in on the hype and recruited the two to finally come together as teammates for a young, scrappy junior college program just an hour north of Springfield off I-55.
While Razo had plenty of experience with Hartl from camps and summer ball and recognized his potential, Antonacci was a player whom Razo quickly learned was going to be deserving of plate appearances.
“As soon as we started doing any kind of research on Sam, we found out pretty quickly he was just that kid who just wanted to play baseball all the time,” Razo said. “And he was just hitting all the time. When you would watch him in games, you could just tell there was something different, that it just seemed easy.”
But it didn’t begin that way for the freshman infielder. The jump from facing high school velocity to college was much steeper than Antonacci anticipated, as he was presented with the challenge of becoming comfortable with quicker pitches while maintaining a similar approach toward softer arms.
Yet even with the back-and-forth, fast-to-slow dynamic of JUCO pitching, Razo believes that adjustment is what makes JUCO hitters like Antonacci poised for the next level.
“Whether Sam will ever admit it or not, his first day facing high velo on our machine here, he struggled a lot,” Razo said. “And it’s an interesting dynamic because nowhere else in baseball do you face 81 (mph) and then 95 on the same weekend.”
Antonacci’s adjustment paid dividends in the end, ultimately taking home the NJCAA Division II National Player of the Year honors in 2023 after leading the league in batting average (.515), on-base percentage (.618) and RBIs (103) in the team’s 57-5 championship run.
Coastal Carolina picked up on Antonacci’s success with Heartland, ultimately recruiting him to become the team’s starting third baseman for the 2024 college season. In one season, Antonacci helped the Chanticleers to a 36-25 record and a regional appearance, a season where he never saw his batting average dip below .333.
For as much as Antonacci shows up on the field, Hartl believes his friend’s presence in the dugout is what counts the most.
“He made me a lot better as a player and as a person,” Hartl said. “I’ve been telling the guys here, you hate playing against him, but you love playing with him.”
From the get go, the road to the big leagues has been much more complicated for Hartl. Razo believed Hartl had as high a ceiling as anyone who came through his program, but Hartl’s potential was dependent on how he’d be able to juggle his duties as a plus-defensive catcher and a top-of-the-order bat.
“His freshman year, when he came in, we kind of told him, ‘Hey man, you obviously are going to be doubted hitting forever. Welcome to it,’” Razo said. “And I think Ben knows that, it’s like no matter what he’s doing, whether it’s in the field or catching, he has to be the best at whatever it is they’re asking him to do that day.”
Hartl silenced the doubters, if there were any at all, by posting a .428/.582/.782 slash across two seasons for the Hawks primarily at the catcher position. Hartl also received an offer to play at the Division I level, accepting an offer from the University of Kansas to take starts at first base, a position Hartl warmed up to in his sophomore year in order to hone in on his hitting.
Though Kansas never made the 2024 regionals, Hartl still posted respectable numbers, slashing .309/.460/.599 in 45 games with 11 home runs and 35 RBIs. What gave Hartl the edge, however, was his ability to step up as a leader in the clubhouse just as he did at Heartland.
Following their college careers, both players were taken in the 2024 MLB Draft, with Antonacci going to the White Sox with the 140th overall pick and the Rangers selecting Hartl with the 435th pick.
Reflecting on the journey, Antonacci admits it wouldn’t have been possible without the development at Heartland or the bond he built with a former rival.
“Looking back at it, if I was a scout, I probably wouldn’t have recruited us at the Division I level,” Antonacci said. “But ultimately, it led us to be able to create a friendship, not only in baseball, but just in life overall.”
And while Hartl knows both he and Antonacci are working toward bigger and better things, Heartland is still a place to call home and is one of the main reasons he’s where he is today.
“It was the turning point in my career,” Hartl said. “I go back and train in the offseason, and I give (coaches Ryan) Knox, Razo and (Adam) McGinnis all the credit because they helped form and shape who I am in my career and in my baseball journey.”
The JUCO journey, though not for every player, remains a mutually beneficial option for players and colleges everywhere. Antonacci and Hartl now live out their dreams of playing in the big leagues each and every day, and Heartland fulfills its goal of leaving lasting impressions on its alumni.
“The ultimate goal for us is if we did our job, we’re going to their wedding,” Razo said. “And it’s going to be an awesome time for us showing up there and just getting that invite because we had an impact on their life beyond just baseball.”
While major league debuts remain future aspirations for now, Hartl and Antonacci can both take in what they’ve accomplished and enjoy playing the game they love in front of fans and scouts in the Valley, and maybe sneak in dinner once a week to catch some NFL action, if Antonacci can make up his mind.
“We went to Cold Beer and Cheeseburgers for Monday Night Football, but man, Sam’s the kid that’ll never decide anything,” Hartl said with a chuckle. “He’s the exact opposite off the field as he is on the field, but he’s awesome for it.”
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